Thoughts from a Traveling Man

I got a new Masonic apron recently. The Grand Lodge of Virginia made me the District Instructor of Work here in District 54 in Northern Virginia. Not all grand lodges have this position. What it means is that I am responsible for teaching the Masonic ritual and helping the lodges in my district become ritually self-sufficient. I will be running a monthly ritual school, which I have been assisting with anyway, and will be in charge of examining members in my district as they prepare for their certificates of qualification to become masters of their lodges.

Believe it or not, becoming master of a lodge, at least in Virginia, is not a matter of simple succession, or should not be, anyway. Here you have to demonstrate competency in the ritual of opening and closing the lodge and conferring the three degrees. There are some other things to learn as well, but this is the bulk of it. If you can get that far, the rest of the stuff will not bother you too much.

As my first invited visit to a lodge in my new capacity, I will be presenting a program on the importance of the ritual in our Masonic activities. If it is well received and somewhat coherent I will post it here. If not, I will probably ask that people forget it. In all seriousness, I feel honored to have been selected for this role and will discharge my duties as best I can.

Rob Shieldssays:

That's awesome. With my limited experience, I have learned that little in Masonry is handed to you. You have clearly earned the right to fill those shoes and have earned the respect to wear the DIW apron. I have every confidence you will do an amazing job!

Late breaking news- I just learned within the past hour that I may be scheduled for my FC degree as early as 1/11. I will get you details as I know more. *pumped*